Melburnians fare badly when paying for public transport

By Clay Lucas and Marc Moncrief

MELBOURNE'S public transport is again the country's most expensive, after the Brumby Government announced the biggest price increase in fares in five years.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky confirmed on Friday that train, tram and bus fares will jump by 5 per cent from January 1.

Geelong's ring road, which opened yesterday.Credit:Rebecca Hallas

With tickets up by as much as $2.20 (for a zone one and two weekly ticket), the Public Transport Users Association has compared Melbourne's fares with other Australian cities.

Melbourne fared badly, with the price of a ticket far higher in all but two cases.

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Melbourne is the most expensive city for all journeys, except short trips in Adelaide, and for trips longer than 40 kilometres, since the Government abolished zone three for the outer suburbs last year.

"In extreme cases, Melbourne costs 50 per cent more than some cities," said Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen.

For a 20-kilometre single trip in Melbourne — for example, from Clayton to Flinders Street — passengers will from next year pay $5.80 (a rise of 30 cents). For a trip of the same length in Brisbane, passengers pay $3.80.

Ms Kosky, defending last week's price rise, said it was not true that Melbourne had the country's most expensive tickets.

But the PTUA said the figures spoke for themselves.

"The bulk of commuters are paying more per kilometre than passengers anywhere in Australia," Mr Bowen said.

The 5 per cent fare increase that will hit passengers next year is separate from another two increases with which they will be slugged in 2012 and 2013.

Those rises will help to finance the state's $38 billion Victorian transport statement.

¦ Melbourne is 20 minutes closer to the Great Ocean Road after the first stages of the Geelong Ring Road were opened to traffic yesterday.

Drivers will now cut 16 traffic lights from their trips past Geelong, with the 15-kilometre road linking the Princes Freeway at Corio to the Hamilton Highway at Fyansford.

The ring road around Geelong is expected to be completed by the end of next year with the opening of the next stage of the road, extending to Waurn Ponds. The completed ring road will stretch 23 kilometres and bypass 29 traffic lights. Premier John Brumby said the finished road would cut about 45 minutes from a trip between Melbourne and the Surf Coast.

"This is the biggest piece of new infrastructure we've seen in Geelong in decades," Mr Brumby said. "Down on the Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road it is going to be great for tourism as well."

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Former premier Steve Bracks and former prime minister John Howard agreed in 2005 to spend $380 million on the road. To date, $615 million has been spent on the project.

Yesterday, shadow minister for roads Terry Mulder demanded Mr Brumby and the federal member for Corangamite, Darren Cheeseman, find an additional $110 million to extend the road to Winchelsea.